84 FANCY PIGEONS. 



apparent, the nestling being of a rusty red, as in tlie Starling ; 

 and not even then does it attain its full beauty, as the 

 secondary flights are not all moulted in its first year, but 

 in its second. With age it often becomes blotched and irre- 

 gular in spangling, like other pigeons of variegated feather. 

 The beak and toe nails should be black, and the irides orange 

 or red. Brent mentions a sub-variety with white upper 

 mandible and head, like the Priest, and Neumeister one with 

 white flights and tail, both of which I consider rather out of 

 keeping with the character of the breed. 



Besides the Black-grounded Suabian, there is another fonn, 

 in which the ground colour is of a ruddy brown or chocolate 

 hue. These have been called Porcelains, which name has 

 also been applied to a sub-variety of the Hyacinth ; but it 

 would be better to allow them to be known as Brown- 

 spangled Suabians. This sub-variety should possess the same 

 characteristics as the other, and the more decided and 

 pronounced it is in its ground colour the better. Many 

 specimens are neither one thing nor another in their ground 

 tint; and all such birds, unless possessing any sx3ecial quality 

 of spangling, which may be of value in breeding, are com- 

 paratively worthless in point of beauty and for exhibition 

 purposes. 



The Shield Pigeon. 



Die Scliild oder Beckeltauhe (the Shield, or Cover Pigeon), a 

 German breed, which takes its name from its marking, 

 is of two kinds, one smooth-legged, the other heavily hocked, 

 and feather - legged and footed. The latter, which is pre- 

 ferred, is the larger of the two, and is a low, broad-chested, 

 thickset pigeon, of the Field type in head and beak. The 

 eye is dark. The marking is that known as turbit, or 

 shoulder marking, and to be right, they must neither have 

 white wing butts nor foul thighs. Although pigeons of the 

 Shield type are sometimes hooded, and even double-crested, 



